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Re: Beekeeping from Jamaica

Not to boast or anything but the bees in my apiaries are still bringing in pollen and raising much brood. Even after Sandy passed through. many beekeepers here are now patiently waiting for the logwood blossoms in January to February. I have decided to make a brave step and I am building enough boxes so i can expand to about 300 hives for next year. the big plan is to move from there then to 500. I am in the process of getting a small cell foundation mill and i will soon start building my own frames. I want to have control from production to final value added products.I am putting all my resources in these bees and wish me luck while I take this journey.

Re: Beekeeping from Jamaica

Re: Beekeeping from Jamaica

Duhaje - I wish you the best. Once I made (on Ukraine) 28 colonies from 5 during three months and extracted 250 kg of honey additionally. But my mistake was - each colony was collecting honey independetly, in accordance with traditional method. I see - you have full understanding how quickly number of colonies can grow and you are doing it. Unfortunately, not all beekeepers have such developed understanding and are ready to be brave and to have tests. Hope, sometimes we will see each other (I am living in Ocho-Rios, St.Ann). Really, on Jamaica I am in intension to have majority of my colonies in one box and to create special bigger colonies when peak flow will be here. It's the best method I found and it is very different from traditioal method when each colony is collecting honey independently and needs to have minimum power 3 boxes for peak flow. Really, for development itself my colonies don't need to be bigger than in one box. But one box colony is not good to collect honey. Development from half of box to full one box is the quickest, and never has swarming, but when peak flow is here, beekeper needs to create one big colony from few one-box colonies (taking adult bees and seal brood to it) for having big colony which will collect honey while another one box colonies will proceed their development. Please, share, how you will collect honey? You will use traditional methods when each of colonies is collecting it independently?

Re: Beekeeping from Jamaica

Hello Dmitry. I like the method you are outlining. I was going the route of having many supers ready for each colony however, I like to try different methods. will your method include one brood box with plenty of space for a new queen to lay, then add several boxes of sealed brood continuously leading up to the main flow. these young bees will leave empty cells that cannot be filled with brood and will be filled with honey? this super box would not have larvae to care for so they become foragers very quickly as outlined is possible. the frames that will be taken from the support hives will give them more space so less swarming? Im am sorry i should ask you for the details. im just excited. I live just a few hours from you so we can meet. let me know if i am on the right track.

Re: Beekeeping from Jamaica

Hello Duhaje. For me it is not problem to response for your questions. I need to give some clarification. First of all, this method requests some experience in beekeeping and is not good for beginners. This method needs careful test, first of all, as well, before usage wit big quantity of colonies, as have own risks and needs some experience in usage. I will explain in which conditions method was born and you will see how good it for you (my concern is that with this speed development your colonies will be rather week for traditional method of honey collection as I had when made 28 from 5 during 3 months). On Ukraine on the spring (second part of May) we have the most valuable honey from tree acacia. Unfortunately, spring weather is very variable (rains, hot or cold weather ettc.). Each colony after winter has own development and often will start swarm before peak flow from acacia. Another situation - colonies are too weak for flow and are collecting not so much honey. But even if you had not swarming before acacia peak flow and your colonies are strong for it (10-12 pounds of bees), the weather can be bad when acacia will start blossoming. Again Ukrainian beekeepers have swarms instead honey. Described method is allowing to increase number of colonies with maximum speed (development from half of box to full one box is the quickest and you really are doing it). When I always had supply flow, good young queens and enough space in one box, bees even didn't grow drones at all.. But then - if weather is good and acacia started to flower, I did super box from one of support boxes in such method - I used as sealed brood from few support bee-hives (1-3 frames from each for having one box of sealed brood), as bees from 2 neighboring bee-hives, taking these bee-hives (each from one box) to another places. I added additional supers with built frames for this super box as well. Then I had honey instead of swarms. Caution - if super box will have queen, big swarm can go out if weather will be bad. Another option is to not use support box as basis for creating of super box. It will start to work then not so quickly (bees will use some open brood from frames with sealed brood to start queen cells and only then will start to work). Advantage of method is also - you need not so much supers and frames for the same quantity of honey. Disadvantage - you have more work for creating of super boxes. Unfortunately, I had not too big experience as I needed to go to Jamaica in 2010, but some Ukrainian beekeepers with hundreds of beehives are using it. It is not big advantage of method, if you can develop each colony to big power without risk of swarming (if weather is good and flow is good constantly) and you have enough supers and frames for traditional method. Duhaje, please, inform, how you are creating new colonies now? How much colonies you have now and which power they nave now in average? Also, do not hesitate to have any new questions for me.

Re: Beekeeping from Jamaica

Duhaje, additionally - exactly responsing for your questions: yes, you are right in your understanding of process - it will be surplus quantity of young bees in super box and they will be busy with honey collection - they will become foragers very quickly. In the same time, support boxes will lose (share with super box) their adult bees or sealed brood (really, each week they need to share or bees or sealed brood for new super boxes), and constantly will be in process of development. Beekeeper needs to install new frames instead of frames with sealed brrod he took. This process is very creative, but it is better to start from not too strong super boxes (really, I used such - I never used too powerful super boxes like some another Russsian and Ukrainian beekeepers). One important issue -It is strongly recommended to use some strong natural smelling issue to give bees from different boxes one common smell (otherwise they can start fighting between each other). Really, I never did it - fighting was minor in my conditions. As I said, this method is for developed beekeepers, not for beginners.

Re: Beekeeping from Jamaica

Gents, really, as method of quick development which Duhaje are using, as method of big colonies creating are both requests some experience, braveness and creativeness. I strongly don't recommend to follow any advices I gave above if you are not ready to have bad results as well as a result of learning.
Duhaje, additionally - can you advise which quantity of colonies is possible for one apiary on Jamaica in bush (if you have not another apiaries nearby)? I used in Ukraine maximum quantity of colonies (each 10-12 pounds of bees) is from 80 to 120 (It depends from quality of ground first of all), installation of bigger quantity will not increase total quantity of honey from apiary.

Re: Beekeeping from Jamaica

Well I am a little over the 140 or so mark now. I had to put several of them together that were a bit weak during the dearth period November- December. On average I would say one super on each. This year i will make several changes:1) I will feed the nucs that I create until they build out the brood chamber, 2) I will create nucs with 5 frames instead of the average 2 that i used last year, 3) I will break the brood cycle much later than i did preferably in the swarming period, 4) leave only 1 emergency cell instead of two( i did this as a safety measure just in case lizards took one queen but found if colony is strong, it may swarm,5) when taking out the queens to break the cycle.

There are several things that I am concerned about using your proposed method. Great care must be taken not to include any cells that contain unsealed brood. This would have to be done when the flow is on due to possible fighting. Disease may be spread when you return bees to other full colonies or nucs. a super hive as large as this should have plenty of ventilation. After a few supers then its also going to be a very tall hive. What i like about the Jamaican flow is that you have a period that leads up to the main flows so the bees will gradually build to meet the flow. I like this idea for the well sought logwood flow. i also like how it deals with the swarming impulse from the support colonies

Re: Beekeeping from Jamaica

Apiaries usually go as much as 70 the most in one apiary. One way to find out is to increase until there is no increase in the honey production as u stated. i prefer to have several apiary sites with less to take advantage of the fact that even though jamaica is small each parish has a distinct period. For me this allows more constant honey as well as not all the work being done all at once. eg one apiary of mine might have issues with swarming this week but the other apiary wont have that issue till the next 2 weeks. plus in case of problems like american foulbrood and so, it wont wipe out your entire stock if you kept tools separate between apiaries.

Re: Beekeeping from Jamaica

Duhaje, if it not too big secret, how old you are? On photo you are rather young, but your knowledge and understanding of bees is fully different from such which have another Jamaican beekeepers I communicated. I can have a mistake, but you will have not 500 hives in future - you will reach 1000 hives or more - It is my opinion. I agree with your corrective action for future period as concerns quick development, can add only: 1) for best development colony needs to have feed - natural flow or syrup - constantly, even after they built brood chamber. When bees are not working - and they are not working as they can for 100% without flow or syrup - beekeeper is not using their potential; 2) as you noted, 2 queen cells and 2 queens then can cause swarming for strong colony - but, from my experience, colony for 5 frames (usual starting power of split) will not swarm (note - my experience is from another climate and I worked not with Italian bees really but with Carpathian).

Re: Beekeeping from Jamaica

lol I am 25. Thanks for the compliment. i find myself spending hours just observing the bees and i guess I have a passion for beekeping. I have used nucs that have swarmed within the same year. Because there is limited space I guess I left them with no choice. I have been breeding for hygenic bees and hopefully will expand my operation to export queen bees one day.

Re: Beekeeping from Jamaica

As concerns method for creating of big colonies from support colonies. Really, beekeepers are not so careful to have not unsealed brood, but they are destroying queen cells one week later (it is hardest for me in work with this method). Bees will be not returned to support colonies - they will work until their power will decrease until usual colony power or they will be dismantled for few boxes (if flow cutted). For really big "big colonies" special bottom with mesh is used for ventilation, but I never used it as I did not too big colonies using not more than few support colonies (and then hive is not too tall like another Ukrainian beekeepers have when they are using many support colonies). But, as I mentioned above, it is not simple method which have own risks and disadvantages and was born in specific circumstances.
Am I good in my understanding, that you are using emergency queens now?
If it is not big secret, how much honey you used to collect from one two boxes colony per year (in average)?
Do you have years, when you have not honey at all?

Re: Beekeeping from Jamaica

Ok there are a few things i need to point out.one is that i graft or use queen system for increase. i also break my brood pattern by removing queens from established hives, this forces the bees to make new queens from larvae. Although they make from the best larvae possible, it would still be considered as an emergency to me since the mother queen was not superceded naturally. with a double hive i would say 2 kegs of honey/10 gallons/ 50 750mls bottles/100 lbs. This is a hive that starts with one super on. Because I am increasing i dont not collect this from some hives but this is the average. as we speak i have several hives with as much as 3 supers on waiting for the flow to pick up. when i start with a 5 frame nuc early, I expect the get one super full of honey, well 50lbs in same year. With feeding this year i expect to get more.